CAREERS NOW 11-04-09

"Homepreneurs" Doing Big Business

DEAR JOYCE: Is it true that over the past 15 years America's small businesses have created nearly 65 percent of all new jobs in the country, as President Obama recently said? I'm thinking about starting a business working from home. - V.W.

Yes, small is tall in America when it comes to the job market influence of companies with fewer than 500 on the payroll. That's according to the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, which gathers statistics from various federal sources, including the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Visit the Office's site, sba.gov/advo, and click on Frequently Asked Questions on the left side of the screen.

Also on the FAQ page, you'll find other interesting official numbers for small firms: They represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms, and 52 percent them are home-based.

Wow! More than half of all U.S. businesses headquarter at home. And growing numbers of these home-basers are starting to make real money (more than half of their owners' household income). Reasons why "homepreneuring" seems to be gaining in popularity:

-- Shoestring costs for a home-based business are appealing.

-- Demographic dynamics, such as baby boomers either losing their jobs, or finding that they're too old to waste time but too young to waste talent. These developments are fueling a surge in senior citizen entrepreneurs. (Browse "Entre-Boomers Rule" by Jeff Cornwall.)

-- Other social shifts are unfolding as well, such as the growth of Internet opportunities and commuters stressed out by traffic.

-- Job seekers who are frustrated to discover that the corporate job cupboard is bare.

For a quick catch-up on the home-start-up craze, browse for the BusinessWeek article, "The Rise of the 'Homepreneur'" and for "Network Solutions Small Business Success Index."

DEAR JOYCE: Frequently I see articles or hear experts on TV promoting teaching as a career because it's supposedly recession-proof. Oh yeah? Several of my teacher friends lost their jobs and are looking to change careers. What's going on? - C.P.

As many as 100,000 teachers may have lost their jobs this year. That's the estimate from a spokeswoman for the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union. It's a school district money issue. When possible, teachers are hired back when money becomes available; when not, teachers move on.

Teachers considering returning for a master's degree in teaching should survey school districts to be assured they won't be passed over for less expensive bachelor's degree beginners.

Although certain occupations obviously offer vastly more security than others, I can think of no sure-thing, recession-proof occupation.

DEAR JOYCE: At 38, after closing my failed business, I'm debating returning to school in an accelerated bachelor's degree nursing program. Because I already have a bachelor's degree in another area, I hope to complete the bachelor of science in nursing degree within one year. Is this a plausible idea? - J.T.

Only the nursing program admissions specialist at your chosen institution can answer your acceleration question with certainty - and will only do so after looking at your transcript.

But, as a concept, yes, you may be able to fast-track your new career. What lies ahead? Although observers expect a rosy future for nursing employment, especially as baby boomers go geriatric, don't forget that hospitals keep importing nurses from other countries.

Accelerated nursing programs are available in 43 states; browse for "accelerated nursing programs." For general nursing info, hop onto these two sites: campaignfornursing.com and discovernursing.com.

DEAR JOYCE: Although I'm searching for a job, I turned down one yesterday because the boss looked like trouble ahead. My husband had a meltdown because we need the money. I think I have a right to turn down a job offer that I know in my soul isn't going to work out. Yes? No?

When you're unemployed and off benefits and have a family to feed, you may take an iffy job and, under the radar, hunt harder than ever. Instead, you may move in with your parents and turn down that bummer job. There's peril both ways. You'll have to decide this one. Job recovery projections continue to be bleak.

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